Movies
Rob Zombie’s ‘Halloween’ Still Holds Labor Day Box Office Record
Ten years ago, Rob Zombie polarized the horror community with the release of his Halloween, a remake of John Carpenter’s classic film that dove deep into the origin story of the mysterious “shape,” Michael Myers. You may love it. You may hate it.
Either way, it was a MONSTER at the box office.
Now ten years later, Rob Zombie’s Halloween still holds the record for highest-grossing Labor Day Weekend in cinema history. Across the film’s four-day opening weekend back in 2007, Halloween pulled in $30,591,759 at the domestic box office, a number few movies have even come close to reaching in the past ten years.
The closest competitor? That’d be horror film The Possession, which made just over $20 million during 2012’s Labor Day Weekend. As for this year, The Hitman’s Bodyguard leads the lackluster Labor Day pack with a $13,272,712 four-day gross in its third week of release.
Halloween‘s 10-year-long record was celebrated on Zombie’s website this week…
“When Rob Zombie’s Halloween was released over the Labor Day Weekend in 2007, it broke box office records for this holiday weekend in the US. And it has continued to do so year after year. Other movies have tried to beat Halloween, which had a Labor Day box office result of $30.5 million, but they have all failed. Valiant attempts have been made by such contenders as The Possession, Morgan, Lawless, Don’t Breathe and a teeny-tiny pop band called One Direction, but none have managed to topple Big Mike.”
Zombie’s site added, “Good luck to whoever wants to try to take the mantle next year.”
Like the film or not, wins for horror are wins for us all.
The bar wasn’t very high to clear, but Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 1 did manage to break a box office record here in 2024, achieving the highest opening weekend at the domestic box office out of any horror movie released this year… so far. This despite largely negative reviews, once again proving that the horror genre is as review-proof as it comes.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 debuted with $11.83M at the domestic box office in 2,856 locations, just barely topping Blumhouse’s Night Swim to rip the crown off the top of its head.
Here’s the full lineup of domestic opening weekends for horror this year…
- The Strangers: Chapter 1 – $11.8 million
- Night Swim – $11.7 million
- Abigail – $10.2 million
- Imaginary – $9.9 million
- The First Omen – $8.3 million
- Tarot – $6.5 million
- Immaculate – $5.3 million
- Lisa Frankenstein – $3.6 million
For further context and comparison, 2018’s The Strangers: Prey at Night opened to $10.4 million before making $31 million worldwide, a number Chapter 1 may eventually reach.
The good news for Lionsgate is that the production budget for The Strangers: Chapter 1 was a reported $8.5 million, so there’s a good chance this one will soon be profitable. But is it enough to justify theatrical releases for both Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, which will continue Chapter 1‘s storyline and have already been filmed? Or will Lionsgate pivot to a streaming release?
These are the questions we can’t help but ponder today. Stay tuned for more.
Madelaine Petsch (“Riverdale”), Froy Gutierrez (Hocus Pocus 2), Rachel Shenton (The Silent Child), Ema Horvath (“Rings of Power”) and Gabe Basso (Hillbilly Elegy) star.
Here’s the full official synopsis: “After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive.”
Renny Harlin directed The Strangers: Chapter 1.
The Lovecraftian Behemoth in ‘Underwater’ Remains One of the Coolest Modern Monster Reveals
‘Jason Universe’ – Horror Inc. Begins a New Era of the ‘Friday the 13th’ Franchise; Here’s the Plan
7 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘The Strangers’ Reboot
Five Horror Anthologies to Stream This Week
‘The Hermit’ – First Look at Lou Ferrigno as a Cannibal Pig Farmer in New Horror Movie
You must be logged in to post a comment.